Cement

Cement
Adhesive and cohesive material
Capable of bonding together particles of solid
matter into compact durable mass

Cement is a crystalline compound of calcium

silicates and other calcium compounds having
hydraulic properties

Cement: History
Assyrians and Babylonians used CLAY
In ancient forts and worship places LIME

History
Romans - development of hydraulic
cement,
Vitruvius Roman scientist
Most significant incorporation of the
Romans was the use of puzzolan-lime
cement by mixing volcanic ash from the Mt.
Vesuvius with lime
Best know surviving example is the
Pantheon in Rome

Cement: History
Pyrimids LIME & GYPSUM
Joseph Aspedin (1824) Portland Cement
Issac C. Johnson (1845) - Cement

Cement
Calcareous cement containing compounds of
lime
Primary function is to bind the fine (sand) and
coarse (grits) aggregate particles together

Cement: Types
Hydraulic
Set and harden in water
Need water to set

Portland Cement

Non-Hydraulic
Does not set or harden in water
Does not need water to set, can be air dried

Plaster of Paris

Cement: Manufacture
Natural
Natural cement stones

Roman cement

Artificially
Calcareous and Argillaceous materials

Puzzolana cement

Medina cement

Portland cement special kind

Hydraulic cement
Hydraulic lime
Only used in specialized mortars. Made from
calcination of clay-rich limestones.

Natural cements
Misleadingly called Roman. It is made from
argillaceous limestones or interbedded limestone
and clay or shale, with few raw materials.
Because they were found to be inferior to
portland, most plants switched

Hydraulic cement
Portland cement
Artificial cement. Made by the mixing clinker with
gypsum in a 95:5 ratio.

Portland-limestone cements
Large amounts (6% to 35%) of ground limestone
have been added as a filler to a portland cement
base.

Blended cements
Mix of portland cement with one or more SCM
(supplementary cemetitious materials) like
pozzolanic additives

Hydraulic cement
Pozzolan-lime cements
Original Roman cements. Only a small quantity is
manufactured in the U.S. Mix of pozzolans with
lime

Masonry cements
Portland cement where other materials have been
added primarily to impart plasticity

Hydraulic cement
Aluminous cements
Limestones and bauxite are the main raw
materials
Used for refractory applications (such as
cementing furnace bricks) and certain
applications where rapid hardening is required
It is more expensive than portland

Portland cement
Portland cement was named for the Isle of
Portland, a peninsula in the English Channel
where it was first produced in the 1800's
Since that time, a number of developments and
improvements have been made in the
production process and cement properties
The production process for portland cement first
involves grinding limestone or chalk and
alumina and silica from shale or clay

Making
The raw materials are proportioned, mixed, and
then burned in large rotary kilns at
approximately 2500F until partially fused into
marble-sized masses known as clinker
After the clinker cools, gypsum is added, and
both materials are ground into a fine powder
which is portland cement

Portland Cement: Types

33 Grade: IS269: 1989
43 Grade: IS 8112: 1989
53 Grade: IS 12669: 1987

Physical requirements and Tests

Physical
requirement

Method of
testing

Grade
33

Grade 43 Grade
53

Fineness (m2/kg)

Blaines air
permissibility

225

225

225

Soundness (mm)

Le Chatelier
apparatus
Autoclave

10

10

10

Setting time
Initial (min)
Final (max)

Vicat apparatus
30
600

30
600

30
600

16
22
33

23
33
43

27
37
53

Compressive strength
(MPa) not less than
721hr
1682hr
6724hr

Portland cement grades

Based on 28 days compressive strength
Category

Strength (MPa)

32.5 37.5

37.5 - 42.5

42.5 47.5

47.5 52.5

52.5 57.5

57.5 2.5

Raw materials
Fundamental chemical compounds

Lime (CaO)
Silica (SiO2)
Alumina (Al2O3)
Iron Oxide (Fe2O3)

Raw materials: Type

Mineral

Sources

Calcium carbonate

Limestone, Marl, Chalk

Argillaceous materials

Clay, shale, sand, iron ore, bauxite,

diaspore, diatomite, staurolite, loess,
silt, sandstone, volcanic ash

Waste material substitutes

Fly ash, bottom ash, foundry sand,

mettalurgical slags

Sources of Calcium carbonate

Sedimentary deposits of marine origin
(limestone)
Marble (metamorphosed limestone)
Chalk, Marl, Coral, Aragonite
Oyster and clam shells
Travertine, Tuff

Ideal composition
Cement rock should have

77 to 78% CaCO3
14% SiO2
2.5% Al2O3 and
1.75% FeO3

Limestone with lower content of CaCO3 and

higher content of alkalis and magnesia
requires blending with high grade limestone

Principle mineral compounds

Mineral compound

Formula

Name

Symbol

Tricalcium silicate

3CaO.SiO2

Alite

C3S

Dicalcium silicate

2CaO.SiO2

Belite

C2S

Tricalcium aluminate

3CaO.Al2O3

Celite

C3A

Tetracalcium alumino ferrite

4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3

Felite

C4AF

Mineral
%age
compound

Heat of
Properties
hydration

More

C3S

25-50
~40

500 J/g

Helps in easier ginding,

Increases resistance to freezing and
thawing
Hydrates rapidly generating high
heat,
Develops early hardness and
strength

Increases heat of
hydration and
Solubility in water

C2S

25-40
~32

260 J/g

Hydrates and hardens slowly

Takes a year or more to add strength
Imparts resistance to chemical crack

Harder to grind
Reduces early strength
Decreases resistance to
freezing and thawing at
early ages
Decreases heat of
hydration

C3A

5-11
~10.5

865 J/g

Rapidly reacts with water

Responsible for flash set
Rapidity could be increased by
adding 2-3% of gypsum
High heat of hydration
Greater tendency to volume changes
causing cracking

Reduces setting time

Weakens resistance to
sulphate attack
Lowers strength
Lowers heat of
hydration and
contraction during air
hardening

C4AF

8-14
~9

420 J/g

Responsible for flash set

Generates less heat
Poorest cementing value

Reduces the strength

slightly

Hydration of cement
Chemical reaction between cement and water
Physical property of concrete depends upon
Extent of hydration and
Resultant microstructure

Stages of hydration

Hydration process
Induction or dormant period
When cement comes in contact with water
hydration products start depositing on the outer
periphery of the nucleus of hydrated cement
Proceeds slowly for 2-5 hrs

The deposit of hydration products on the

original cement grain makes the diffusion of
water to unhydrated nucleus more and more
difficult, consequently reducing rate of
hydration with time

Hydration process
At any stage, the cement paste consists of
Fine grained product of hydration having large surface
area collectively
The un-reacted cement
Calcium hydroxide
Water and
Some minor compounds

The crystals of various resulting compounds

gradually fill the space originally occupied by water,
resulting in stiffening of the mass and subsequent
development of the strength

Reaction during hydration process

C3S+H2O
C-S-H*+Ca(OH)2
C2S+H2O
C-S-H+Ca(OH)2
C3A+H2O
C3AH6
C3A+H2O+CaSO4
CA CH12
(Calcium sulpho-aluminate)

C4AF+H2O
C3AH6+CFH
H*: H2O and : SO3
C-S-H: Calcium silicate hydrate (tobermorite gel)

Hydration
Hydrated crystals are

Extremely small
Fibrous
Platey or tubular in shape
Varying from 2mm 10mm or more

C-S-H
50-60% of the volume in solids in a completely
hydrated paste
Most important in determining the properties of the
paste
Proposed surface area 100-700 m2/g
Solid to solid distance 18 0A

Hydration
Ca(OH)2
Liberated during the silica phase crystallises in the
available free space
Also known as portlandite
Consists of 20-25% volume of the solids in
hydrated paste
Lower surface area
Strength contributing potential is limited
Must be saturated with water if hydration is to
continue

Water requirement
Bound water
About 23% (24% C3S and 21% C2S) of water by
weight of cement is required for complete
hydration
This water combines chemically with cement
compounds

Gel water
15% by weight of cement is required to fill the
cement gel pores

Water requirement
Total 38% of water by weight is required to
complete the chemical reaction
Water/ cement ratio of less than 0.38% is very
common for high strength concretes
If excess water is present, it would lead to
capillary cavities

Cement manufacture: process

Produced by mixing ground limestone, clay or shale,
sand and iron ore in the dry form
Raw limestone, clay & gypsum minerals are ground into
powder & heated in kiln (1600 C)
Minerals interact at that temperature to form calcium
silicates (clinker)
The heating process causes the materials to break down
and recombine to form new compounds named as
clinkers.
After cooling, the clinker is very finely ground
Finely grounded material is known as Portland cement
which react with water in a crystallization process called
hydration.

Cement Manufacture: Process flow

Process: Dry or Wet

The processes of manufacture are known as the
Wet
Dry, and
Semi-dry processes

Are so termed when the raw materials are

ground wet, dry or semi-dry and fed to the kiln

Cement Manufacture : Process

Testing of cement

Soundness or constancy of volume

Strength
Time of set or activity
Fineness

Physical test (IS: 4031)

Fineness test
Sieve method
Air permeability method
Wagner Turbidimeter method

Consistency test
Initial and final setting times
Soundness test
Le-chatelier method
Autoclave test

Physical test (IS: 4031)

Determination of strength
Compressive strength
Tensile strength

Briquette method

Heat of hydration
Specific gravity test

Chemical tests (IS:4032)

Loss on ignition (<=4%)

Silica
Combined ferric oxide and Alumina
Ferric oxide
Alumina
Calcium oxide (>=0.66%)
Magnesia (<4%)
Sulphuric Anhydrite (<2.5%)
Insoluble residue (<=1.5%)

Type of Cement
Rapid hardening Portland
cement: IS 8041
High Alumina cement: IS
6452
Super-sulphated Portland
cement: IS 6909
Sulphate resisting
Portland cement: IS 12330
Portland slag cement: IS
455
Low heat Portland cement:
IS 12600

Portland Puzzolana
cement: IS 1489 Pt II
Quick setting Portland
cement:
Masonry cement: IS 3466
White and coloured
Portland cement: IS 8042
Air entraining cement
Calcium chloride cement
Water repellent cement: IS
8043
Water proof cement

Storage
Kept in sacs of 50kg (0.035m3) for local use
Stored for short period of time
In air-tight room avoiding moisture and
dampness
At some distance from the walls and some height
from the floors
Covered to avoid air-circulation
No more than 10 bags should be piled

Uses
Main use is in the fabrication of concrete and
mortars
Other uses
Building
Floors, beams, columns,
roofing, piles, bricks, mortar,
panels, plaster
Transport
Roads, pathways, crossings,
bridges, viaducts, tunnels,
parking, etc.
Water
Pipes, drains, canals, dams,
tanks, pools, etc.

Civil
Piers, docks, retaining
walls, silos, warehousing,
poles, pylons, fencing
Agriculture
Buildings, processing,
housing, irrigation

Substitutes
It competes in the construction industry with
concrete substitutes:
Alumina

Asphalt
Clay brick
Fiberglass
Glass

Steel
Stone
Wood

Some materials like fly ash and ground granulated

furnace slugs have good hydraulic properties and
are being used as partial substitutes for portland
cement in some concrete applications